Concerning the Formation of Legal Terminology

6Se giusz G iniewicz | Conce ning he Fo ma ion o Legal Te minology Conce ning he Fo ma ion o Legal Te minology Se giuSz g iniewicz Uni e si y o Bialys ok KEYWORDS: p o o- e ms, e minology o ming, hype onymy, seman ic ields, synonymy INTRODUCTION In he ocabula y o e e y language he e exis s a laye be ween com- mon wo ds and e ms consis ing o so-called p o o- e ms. I is connec ed wi h he pe iod o ansi ion om p e-scien i ic o scien i ic s ages o cogni ion and ea ly s ages o o ma ion o scien i ic e minologies. In es- iga ing p o o- e ms e eals main endencies in eme gence o e min ologies and e olu ion o mind. The e a e wo app oaches in explo ing he o ma ion o e minologies, which in eali y is explo ing he e olu ion o cul u e and human con- sciousness. The i s one p esupposes diach onic analysis o he quan i a- i e and quali a i e changes o he chosen e minology s a ing om he ea lies lexeme. The second one in ol es a p elimina y examina ion o he p esen s uc u e and s a e o he chosen e minology which makes i possible o ully app ecia e changes in i s his o ical de elopmen . The i s one enables ulle unde s anding o some imes qui e sudden and ha dly comp ehensible changes in wo d meanings ha e lec changes in app ehension o no ions while he second makes i possible o es ima e he e olu ion o ideas on he basis o knowledge o i s esul s. The p esen s uc u e o ideas is e ealed by es ablishing hyponymic (hie a chical) ela ions be ween hei nomina ions. The choice o legal e minology is caused by i s pa icula s a us. Law was one o he h ee special ies augh in he ea ly uni e si ies: since o e e y man h ee mos impo an aspec s we e his body, his soul and his p ope y and sa e y. The impo ance o clea unde s anding and e ading doub s in aking legal decisions canno be o e es ima ed. I e lec s in he cha ac e o legal Te minologija | 2016 | 23 7 e minology – he endency owa ds p ecision in de ining legal concep s, which is usually cha ac e is ic o echnical e minologies, concomi ance wi h he equi emen o cla i y and unde s andabili y o meaning o legal e ms; decisi e ole o legal e ms in no ma i e and go e ning documen s. We may conclude ha such documen s as adminis a i e o c iminal codices in eali y a e collec ions o e ms and hei de ini ions. 1. COLLECTING WORDS NAMING THE NOTION “WITNESS” To explo e o ma ion o legal e minology we may ake as an example he no ion o wi ness. Nowadays his no ion may be exp essed by a num- be o synonyms ha may be ound in dic iona ies o synonyms. As he ini ial sou ce o ou in es iga ion we ha e chosen he Chambe s Supe - Mini Thesau us (CSMT 1998). I has he ollowing me i s: – i con ains a subs an ial amoun o lexical uni s (o e 155,000 syno- nyms and an onyms); – his is a well-known publishing-house wi h a epu a ion o ho ough- ness and good quali y o dic iona ies; – his edi ion is qui e ecen and may be conside ed an au ho i y on English oday. As he s a ing poin o ou esea ch we ake he en y wi ness. I con ains wo g oups o synonyms: 1. es i ie , a es an , deponen ( ml); 2. onlooke , eye-wi ness, looke -on, obse e , spec a o , iewe , wa ch e , bys ande . The p esence o he wo g oups o synonyms poin s o he ac ha he chosen wo d “wi ness” is polysemic. The e o e i seems logical o u n o he de ini ion o his wo d in he de ining dic iona ies wi h he aim o es ablishing he exac meanings o his e m. In he Ox o d Ad anced Lea ne ’s Dic iona y (OALD 2000) we ind ou meanings: 1. pe son who sees s h (also eye-wi ness) – a pe son who sees s h hap- pen and is able o desc ibe i o o he people; 2. (in cou o law) – a pe son who gi es e idence in a cou o law: a de ence / p osecu ion wi ness; 3. (o signa u e) – a pe son who is p esen when an o icial documen is signed and who also signs i o p o e ha hey saw his happen; 8Se giusz G iniewicz | Conce ning he Fo ma ion o Legal Te minology 4. (o eligious belie s) – e idence o a pe son’s s ong eligious belie s, ha hey show by wha hey say and do in public. In he Longman Dic iona y o English Language and Cul u e (LDELC 1999) we ind h ee de ini ions: • wi ness/1/. (also eyewi ness) – someone who is p esen when some hing happens, especially a c ime o an acciden ; • wi ness/2/. – someone who ells in a cou o law wha hey saw happen, o wha hey know abou a pe son; • wi ness/3/. – someone who is p esen a he w i ing o an o icial pape and signs i o show ha hey ha e seen he w i e sign i . The seeming disc epancy comes om he ac ha in he second dic- iona y only a pe son is conside ed. In he Me iam-Webs e Collegia e Dic iona y (MWD 2004) we ind i e meanings: 1. es imony; 2. one ha gi es e idence; 3. one p esen a a ansac ion so as o be able o es i y ha i has aken place; 4. one who has pe sonal knowledge o expe ience o some hing; 5. some hing se ing as e idence o p oo . We can iew he disc epancy be ween p esen ing he same no ion, o a he a se o ela ed no ions. The OALD de ines his wo d as mainly de- no ing a pe son and omi ing “ es imony”, while he CSMT in he espec - i e en y iews i only as a pe son, hough in he same dic iona y in he en y “ es imony” we ind wi ness as one o he synonyms. The las hing may be iewed as inconsis ency, because synonymic ela ions a e ecip o- cal – i wi ness is a synonym o es imony, hen in he en y “wi ness” should be p esen ed he hi d g oup o synonyms wi h he meaning “ es imony”. Also he o de o p esen a ion o synonyms is qui e meaning ul. Acco d- ing o he au ho s “ he mos impo an and ele an meanings i s ” (back co e ), also “o de om he mos common o he leas equen ly used, o specialised” (In oduc ion) which could be added o he me i s o his dic- iona y. In some dic iona ies we ha e he alphabe ic o de , which seems o be qui e useless because i does no show he di e ence be ween he mos Te minologija | 2016 | 23 9 equen ly used and mos close synonyms and hose ha a e obsolescen , coming ou o use, a e only pa ial synonyms o jus ela ed lexemes. I is cu ious ha all o he wo ds included in he i s g oup o synonyms a e no p esen ed as en y wo ds; hey do no ha e hei own en ies in he CSMT. Tha may be seen as a d awback o he dic iona y. In he case ha hese wo ds we e no included as en y wo ds because hey a e seldom used (o a e no impo an ) his p inciple should be men ioned in he in oduc ion, o hey should ha e e e ing en ies. S ill we may guess ha his dic iona y which is a he small includes only common wo ds, while in he i s g oup we ha e e ms. We concen a e, he e o e, on he second g oup o synonyms. I is in- e es ing o no ice ha almos all o hem excep he las one a e based on he ac o iewing some hing. This is con i med by he OALD which de ines he i s meaning o he wo d “wi ness” as “a pe son who sees s h happen and is able o desc ibe i o o he people”. Also indi ec ly i is con i med by he absence o he wo d “ea -wi ness” which is p esen in he Ox o d English Dic iona y (OED 1989) – he la ges dic iona y o he English language (wi h he meaning “a pe son who es i ies, o is able o es i y, o some hing on he e idence o his own hea ing”) and, he e o e, belongs o he English ocabula y. Compa ison o p esen a ion o synonyms in he exis ing English dic- iona ies o synonyms in he las en yea s e ealed incomple eness o p o iding synonyms in hei en ies. Fo example, in he same dic iona y (CSMT) he en y o he wo d o look con ains 17 synonyms, while he analysis o en ies o hese synonyms esul ed in inding 34 mo e syno- nyms o he wo d “ o look” ( wice as many) in he same dic iona y. This is an ex ao dina y case, bu he expe ience o in es iga ing synonymy poin s o he ac ha e en in he la ges dic iona ies o synonyms no all synonyms a e p esen ed in he en ies. To ensu e comple eness o col- lec ing synonyms we ha e o analyse en ies o he synonyms p esen ed in he ini ial en y. The i s o he synonyms o he wo d “wi ness” – onlooke – is, ac- co ding o i s posi ion, he closes synonym o he wo d wi ness and has in i s own en y he ollowing synonyms: bys ande , obse e , spec a o , looke -on, eye-wi ness, wi ness, wa che , iewe . The i s hing ha may be no iced he e is he ac ha all o he synonyms o he wo d onlooke a e also included in he en y o “wi ness”. 1 0 Se giusz G iniewicz | Conce ning he Fo ma ion o Legal Te minology Tha poin s o he ac ha hose wo en y wo ds may ha e exac ly he same meaning (which may be p o ed o disp o ed by compa ing espec - i e de ini ions in de ining dic iona ies). I is wo h no ing, in ou opinion, ha he wo d “looke -on”, which has, acco ding o he OED, exac ly he same meaning as he wo d onlooke , being a a ian o he la e , does no begin he lis o synonyms, bu has ou h place. Should i be conside ed as b eaking he ules es ablished by he au ho s hemsel es? Pe haps i means ha he wo d looke -on is seldom used which may be e lec ed in he ac ha i is no p esen bo h in he MWD and in he OALD. The second o he synonyms – eye-wi ness – has in i s en y in he dic iona y he ollowing synonyms: wi ness, obse e , spec a o , looke -on, onlooke , bys ande , iewe , passe -by (i is con enien o unde line new lexemes which a e possible addi ional synonyms). As we ha e poin ed ou abo e, in he CSMT eye-wi ness is ega ded no as a species o he no ion wi ness, bu a he as a a ian (absolu e synonym), and so he en ies o he wo ds wi ness and eye-wi ness should be exac ly he same, wi h excep ion pe haps o he las wo d o he ini ial en y – bys ande , which does no poin explici ly o he acul y o iewing being used. Howe e , acco ding o he OALD, i has he meaning “a pe son who sees s h ha is happening bu is no in ol ed”, so, in ac , i also is he synonym o he wo d eye-wi ness, and is qui e jus ly p esen ed in i s en y. Ne e heless he e is a di e ence (apa om he di e en o de o p e- sen a ion – which may p o e o be qui e impo an , showing he di e ence in usage and closeness o meaning) in an addi ional wo d passe -by which is missing in he ini ial en y and he absence o he wo d wa che . I should be men ioned, ha apa om he es o synonyms ha p e- suppose iewing, wi nessing some hing, bys ande and passe -by do no necessa ily mean wi nessing, bu a he in ol e he possibili y o iewing some hing. Ne e heless hey may be included in o he analysed seman- ic ield. The en y obse e con ains he ollowing wo ds: wa che , spec a o , iewe , wi ness, looke -on, onlooke , eyewi ness (a di e en o m o he al eady p esen ed synonym!), commen a o , bys ande , beholde . The e a e h ee new wo ds he e. Besides eyewi ness which is a di e en o m o he al eady p esen ed synonym we ha e some comple ely new Te minologija | 2016 | 23 1 1 wo ds. Beholde acco ding o i s meaning should ha e been placed in he ini ial en y, while commen a o is qui e di e en . The e a e no common synonyms in i s en y wi h he ini ial en y “wi ness” and e en he wo d obse e is no p esen ed he e (?), so i is clea ly qui e ou side o he seman ic ield “wi ness”. In many en ies o synonyms we can ind, apa om he same synonyms as in he i s en y, wo g oups o wo ds: – hose ha in ou opinion should be included in he ield and he i s en y – some imes hei numbe being qui e subs an ial as in he case o o look (CSMT) wi h addi ional synonyms supplied in he en ies o i s synonyms; – hose ha a e qui e di e en in meaning om he ini ial wo d. In he en ies o he wo ds spec a o , iewe , wa che and bys ande we did no ind any new synonyms. In Roge ’s Thesau us o English Wo ds & Ph ases (RTEW 2002) wi ness does no ha e a sepa a e en y, bu is p esen ed as a synonym in he en ies e idence and eco d – which means ha i is ega ded a he as a ma e ial objec , in he ou h meaning o OALD and he i s and i h meanings o he MWD. In he Ox o d Pape back Thesau us (OPT 2001) he en y wi ness con- ains he ollowing synonyms: 1. obse e , onlooke , eyewi ness, spec a o , iewe , wa che ; bys ande , passe -by; 2. e idence, indica ion, p oo , es imony. I is qui e clea ha he wo d wi ness has wo qui e di e en meanings; he i s g oup con ains he al eady known wo ds, bu we may ind some new wo ds in hei en ies. Also i is in e es ing ha al hough his dic ion- a y is la ge he e a e no new synonyms in he en y o he wo d wi ness. In he en y obse e we ind addi ional wo ds ly-on- he-wall, ubbe neck, beholde (which do no ha e hei en ies in he same dic iona y); sigh - see (which does no quali y as a synonym o wi ness); in he en y spec a- o – commen a o , epo e , moni o (all o hem no quali ying); in he en y wa che – a new wo d spy (no quali ying); in he en y bys ande – a new wo d non-pa icipan (no quali ying) and gawpe /in o mal/ which may be added o he lis o synonyms. 1 2 Se giusz G iniewicz | Conce ning he Fo ma ion o Legal Te minology The esul ing lis o synonyms o he wo d wi ness in he meaning o a pe son looks in he ollowing way (in alphabe ic o de ): a es an , beholde , bys ande , deponen ( ml); ea -wi ness, eyewi ness, eye-wi ness, ly-on- he-wall, gawpe , looke -on, obse e , onlooke , passe -by, ubbe neck, spec a o , es i- ie , iewe , wa che – 18 lexemes. Fu he analysis o in e ne sou ces, such as he www.TheF eeDic iona y. com and www. hesau us.com and especially www.powe hesau us.o g e eal he exis ence o u he synonyms o he chosen wo d, namely – a es a o , a es e , a es o , co obo a o , gawke , gaze , ogle , passe by, peepe , pe - cei e , ubbe necke , see , signa o y, signe , oye , wi nesse – 16 addi ional lexemes. Checking hei synonyms gi es addi ional i e wo ds – ea wi ness, gape , goggle , s a e , oyeu . So as he inal esul we ha e 40 wo ds ha may be used o deno e he no ion wi ness (a pe son) and oge he con- s i u e he espec i e seman ic ield. The majo i y o hem a e naming a ious ypes o wi nesses. Some o hese lexical o ms a e used as p o o- e ms bu also in e e yday speech while some o hem (such as a es an , deponen , es i ie , signa o y) a e al eady e ms. 2. ESTABLISHING HIERARCHICAL RELATIONS IN THE SEMANTIC FIELD “WITNESS” To es ablish he s uc u e o he o med seman ic ield we classi y he collec ed synonyms on he genus–species p inciple s a ing wi h hose wi h he b oades meaning, di iding hem in o g oups and subg oups down o he names o na owes no ions ha o m he lowes le el o classi ica ion. To c ea e such classi ica ion we s a wi h collec ing desc ip- ions o he meanings o he chosen wo ds, p esen ed in de ining dic ion- a ies, such as LDELC, MWD, OED, www.TheF eeDic iona y.com and www.powe hesau us.o g. While classi ying no ions we ind ha some no ions ha e se e al names – in his way we e eal absolu e ( ull) synonyms. A he same ime some names ha e mo e han one meaning and a e used o deno e se e al no ions. Fo example, he ini ial wo d wi ness has h ee meanings. Such cases in e minology we adi ionally iew as homonymy. We may also come ac oss he hidden polysemy/homonymy o en ma ked by using he conjunc ion o in he de ini ion, i.e. s a e – a pe son who looks s eadily o a long ime esp. in g ea su p ise o shock; gape – a pe son looking ha d in Te minologija | 2016 | 23 1 3 su p ise o wonde , especially wi h a mou h open o wi ness/2/ (in a cou ) someone who ells in a cou o law wha hey saw happen, o wha hey know abou a pe son – whe e de ini ion in eali y poin s o wo di e en no ions. In his case we a e subs i u ing such wo d by wo wo ds: s a e /1/ – a pe son looking s eadily in g ea su p ise and s a e /2/ – a pe son look- ing s eadily in shock; gape /1/ – a pe son looking ha d in su p ise, espe- cially wi h a mou h open and gape /2/ – a pe son looking ha d in wonde , especially wi h a mou h open; wi ness/2/ (in a cou ) someone who ells in a cou o law wha hey saw happen and wi ness/4/ (in a cou ) some- one who ells in a cou o law wha hey know abou a pe son. We also ind in he dic iona ies in o ma ion p o ided abou a ian s o some wo ds; such a ia ion oge he wi h homonymy esul s in inc easing he numbe o lexemes unde in es iga ion o 55. The p e e able names o no ions a e ma ked by he bold ype. A es an /1/ – (law) a pe son who a es s o he genuineness o a documen o signa u e by adding hei own signa u e, also = a es a o = a es o a es an /2/ – someone who a i ms o ouches o he co ec ness o u h o genuineness o some hing, also = a es e A es a o > a es an /1/, a es e = a es an /2/, a es o > a es an /1 beholde – a pe son who has seen an e en happen, and so is able o desc ibe i by-passe > passe by by-s ande > bys ande bys ande – a nonpa icipan spec a o co obo a o – someone who gi es suppo ing e idence deponen – Law. one who es i ies, especially in cou : ea wi ness > ea -wi ness/1/ ea -wi ness/1/ – (legal) one who a es s o hings he has hea d himsel ea -wi ness/2/ – a pe son who has hea d an e en happen, and so is able o desc ibe i eyewi ness/1/ – (legal) one who saw he ac o ac o which he es i ies eyewi ness/2/ – a pe son who has seen an e en happen, and so is able o desc ibe i eye-wi ness/1/ > eyewi ness/1/ eye-wi ness/2/ > eyewi ness/2/ ly on he wall > ly-on- he-wall ly-on- he-wall – a possible unno iced wi ness gape /1/ – a pe son looking ha d in su p ise, especially wi h a mou h open* gape /2/ – a pe son looking ha d in wonde , especially wi h a mou h open* gawke – a pe son looking a some hing in a oolish way 1 4 Se giusz G iniewicz | Conce ning he Fo ma ion o Legal Te minology gawkie > gawke gawpe – a pe son looking a some hing in a oolish way, especially wi h a mou h open gaze – a pe son looking s eadily, especially o a long ime and o en wi h ad- mi a ion o pleasu e and wi hou being conscious o wha he/she is doing goggle – a pe son looking ha d wi h he eyes wide open, o mo ing a ound, usually in g ea su p ise looke -on > an onlooke non-pa icipan – pe son who does no ake pa in some hing obse e – someone who obse es ogle – a pe son looking (a ) wi h g ea in e es , especially sexual onlooke – a pe son who wa ches some hing happening wi hou aking pa in i passe -by > passe by passe by (passe -by) – a pe son who (by chance) is walking, d i ing e c. pas a place pe cei e – a pe son, coming o knowledge o some hing h ough he senses ubbe neck > ubbe necke ubbe necke – (in o mal, USA) someone who looks wi h g ea in e es a some hing ha has happened, especially someone who d i es e y slowly in o de o look a an acciden on a oad signa o y – any o he signe s o an ag eemen , esp. among na ions signe – someone who signs and is bound by a documen spec a o – a pe son who wa ches especially an e en o spo wi hou aking pa s a e /1/ – a pe son who looks s eadily o a long ime esp. in g ea su p ise s a e /2/ – a pe son who looks s eadily o a long ime esp. in shock s a e /3/ – a iewe who gazes ixedly (o en wi h hos ili y) swea e – someone who akes a solemn oa h es i ie – one who es i ies, especially in cou : iewe – a pe son who wa ches o is wa ching a en i ely, a close obse e oye > oyeu oyeu – a pe son who enjoys wa ching he p i a e and especially unpleasan ac i i ies o o he s wa che – a pe son looking a en i ely* wi ness/1/ (po en ial) = someone who is p esen when some hing happens, especially a c ime o an acciden ; wi ness/2/ – (in a cou ) someone who ells in a cou o law wha hey saw happen; wi ness/3/ – (signing a documen ) someone who is p esen a he w i ing o an o icial pape and sings i o show ha hey ha e seen he w i e sign i wi ness/4/ – (in a cou ) someone who ells in a cou o law wha hey know abou a pe son wi nesse – who sees an e en and epo s wha happened